Benni, the rascal
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Benni, the rascal |
| Original title | Bennie Stout |
| Country of production | Netherlands |
| original language | Dutch , German |
| Publishing year | 2011 |
| length | 93 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Johan Nijenhuis |
| script | Wijo Koek |
| production | Klaas de Jong Johan Nijenhuis Bernard Tulp |
| music |
Matthijs Kieboom Martijn Schimmer |
| camera | Maarten van Keller |
| cut | Yamal Stitou |
| occupation | |
| |
Benni, der Lausebengel (Original title: Bennie Stout ) is a Dutch feature film by Johan Nijenhuis from 2011 . In Germany, the film was released on April 5, 2013.
action
Benni Stout lived in the Dutch city of Enkhuizen in the 1930s. One day he throws a street race in their pedal cars against Roderick, the mayor's wicked little son. Because of their ruthlessness, but also because Roderick Benni's car sabotaged, people have to jump aside, fall into the water or drop things. Benni is solely responsible and has to spend the family's little money to pay for the damage. In the meantime, his mother and his brother, Steven, went to the port to pick up Benni's father, who is due to arrive there today by ship. But they are told that he is still in Spain because he found work there. Benni is very sad about it and because it will be Christmas soon, he only has one wish: his father should come home again. Since Benni now has to hear that his father will not come until the spring, he decides to go to him.
Benni discovers that Roderick is noted in the Big Book of Sinterklaas . According to the classical tradition, every year Santa Claus brings presents to the good children and the naughty ones put them in a sack and take them to Spain for a year. On the spur of the moment, Benni changed Roderick's name to his own so that he could go to Spain in his place. The plan works and Benni is taken away from school, put in a sack and locked on a boat where there are already many other children who have done a lot of nonsense. While all the other naughty bastards want to avoid the work they have to do on the ship, Benni volunteers to do so. Everyone tries to escape from the ship that night: except for Benni. So Sinterklaas notices that Benni cannot be a cheeky boy and wants to release him again. To prevent that from happening, he does some nonsense on the ship and devastates the gingerbread kitchen. As a punishment, he now has to shovel coal for a day, but Nicholas sees through the boy's plan and sends Benni from the ship. But because he is so dirty from the coal dust that he can hardly be seen, he comes up with a new plan and disguised as Piet goes back to the boat that is still in the harbor until December 6th. Benni is not exposed, but is now mistaken for a Piet candidate and sent on excursions into town to distribute pepper nuts in the houses. It is noticeable that he cannot climb roofs and descend into chimneys without help. Nevertheless, he tries hard and even goes into his mother's house.
Sinterklaas finds out that Roderick's name has been deleted from the Big Book and now has him brought to the ship. His mother struggles a little, but his father respects the authority of the saint and understands that her son should be punished. Roderick doesn't see this at all and jumps off the boat at the first opportunity to flee. On the orders of Sinterklaas, all the Pieter jump into the water (because they are all called Piet) to save him from drowning. Roderick is then allowed to go home to recover. But all Piets got sick from swimming in the cold water and there is a risk that the “package evening” will not continue. But Benni has a solution, he reveals himself to Sinterklaas and persuades the cheeky badgers to help the saint. The children diligently pack the presents and secretly put them in front of the door for the people who are already longingly waiting for Sinterklaas. Exhausted, they return to the boat and now receive gifts themselves and learn that they no longer have to go to Spain because they are not that naughty. He arranges for Benni and his brother that their father comes home from Spain by train. When he leaves again on December 6th, Sinterklaas decides that he will never bring naughty children to Spain again.
background
In the Dutch tradition, gifts are given to children by Sinterklaas and his assistant Zwarte Piet on the night of December 5th . Sinterklaas rides a white horse over the roofs and comes with Zwarte Piet through the chimney into the houses to bring presents to the children who live there. He wears his bishop's clothes, a red smoke coat and a bishop's staff. According to tradition, Sinterklaas travels with a steamboat from Spain every year, on a Saturday about three weeks before the holiday. While the good children receive presents, the naughty ones are punished.
criticism
Kino.de assessed: “A Dutch boy experiences adventures with the specifically Dutch Santa Claus, who, thanks to the 80 Years War and Inquisition King Phillip, kidnaps the bad children to the Costa Brava! The contemporary subtext deals with what being angry with children actually means, otherwise this is a pleasantly old-fashioned costume film production, educationally valuable and prepared without surprises for the easily impressed child. "
The German Film and Media Evaluation FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the title valuable.
Locations
Most of the outdoor shots were shot in the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen and some scenes at the level crossing and at the Twisk train station on the museum steam tram Hoorn – Medemblik .
Web links
- Benni, the rascal in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Benni, the rascal at kinderfilmwelt.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Film review at Kino.de , accessed on December 29, 2017.